Truth in advertising? Not in political seasons

Truth in advertising is often an oxymoron, particularly during election season.

That is apparent from a recent GOP television ad accusing Democratic attorney general candidate Susan Happ of letting a pipe bomb builder go free shortly after charges were filed against him.

The ad, as the legal establishment is fond of saying, assumes facts not in evidence. Voters should dismiss it.

There is a hint of “truth” in the ad. Happ did file — and later drop — state charges of possessing a pipe bomb against Christopher Hamlin of Waterloo in 2009. Police had arrested Hamlin in August of that year after finding a pipe bomb in his possession. He admitted to officers that he had made the bomb and had used other pipe bombs to blow up a burn barrel and a tree.

Happ dismissed the charges less than a month after filing them. Happ, the Jefferson County district attorney, said she dropped the case in consultation with federal prosecutors after a federal grand jury in Madison indicted Hamlin on a bomb possession count.

Court records show that Hamlin ultimately pleaded guilty to federal charges and was sentenced to seven years in prison.

The GOP conveniently ignored those details in its ad, which is running statewide, accusing Happ of dismissing the case and going soft on the pipe bomber.

The Republican Party declined comment about the federal charges, as did a spokesman for Happ’s Republican opponent, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel, who said he is unfamiliar with the case.

Both parties in this race, which polls show is a dead heat, have the right to investigate their opponents’ record on crime.

The attorney general is, after all, the top cop in the state and should be held to the highest standards.

Both sides, however, should avoid fishing expeditions that result in half-truths and innuendo.

We are experiencing enough of that in advertising connected to the governor’s race, where accusations about job gains and losses, and alleged stances on abortion and other controversial issues, continue to fly unfettered by facts.

It becomes easy to drop our guard in the constant bombardment of political advertising.

We often let the ads “slide” and take what the candidates and their minions are telling us for gospel, or we tune out completely.

The election is just a couple weeks off, however, and we must remain vigilant. We must try, as best we can, to determine to what extent the political advertising we read, see and hear is true.

It is not an easy task, given the amount of spin out there, but something we must continue to attempt.